Apron Role takes the form of a videographic triptych consisting of three different videos of the same performative act, where the simple and seemingly trivial gesture of putting on an apron is repeated. A gesture passed down from generation to generation, from women to women, embodying the act of getting to work—taking on a secondary role. The apron has always protected women in their daily domestic chores. But in a perverse reversal, the protection it offers can become a straitjacket, synonymous with servitude.
Karine Marenne (BE)
Women from all eras, generations, and cultures are represented. The repetition of the gesture, the accumulation of fabric, the weight of stereotypes—these elements reveal and illustrate the burden, not only physical but above all mental, borne by women, onto whom responsibilities are heaped—the secondary role that must fulfill its duty.
A voluntary un-layering of all these (self-)assigned, (self-)imposed roles, in a society lacking meaning in its “male”-dominated structure.
Karine Marenne (she, her) is a visual artist and performer. Her artistic work delves into and explores IMAGE in the broadest sense of the term. She sees performance as a poetic/political act or action aimed at revealing the cracks in the system. She uses the body to create Image, staging herself by subverting feminine codes and archetypes. Derision is her weapon of choice. She deliberately employs a stereotyped, deceptively naïve imagery that infiltrates environments where it does not belong. By unsettling reality, a shift occurs, and burlesque characters emerge.
In 2006, Karine Marenne created We Love Art, transforming the BOZAR palace into a fitness room where artists, curators, and guards were invited to sweat for Art. From 2005 to 2008, she developed a long-running nomadic series with “Caravan of Love”. From 2012 to 2017, armed with a feather duster, she self-proclaimed herself “Art Maid”, wandering through art fairs to build her collection of collectors. From 2016 to 2018, “Artist Couple”: Karine Marenne performed the concept of a couple. Currently, “Apron Role” is a voluntary un-layering through the act of putting on 50 aprons.
Infos
| DATE | CONTENU |
|---|---|
| 2025/04/171900 |
17.04.2025 19:00 > 22:00 La Raffinerie, Brussels |
Free entry
Also on 04/18.
Sound: Variation of the 15th-century piece La Folia
Photography assistant: Marie Bertrand
Co-presented by Charleroi danse. With the technical support of Transcultures.
